


my morning glory

by meowrails



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fauns & Satyrs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-03-31 21:01:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3992740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowrails/pseuds/meowrails
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minseok meets a strange creature in the forest as a child. Eleven years later, he meets it again with a snare attached to its leg.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the language of flowers

**Author's Note:**

> [Here](https://soundcloud.com/willster-trailer-music/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-tv-spot-3-really-slow-motion-the-birth-of-a-soul) is the recommended listening. I tried to write my image of faun!lLuhan as best as possible, but [here](http://40.media.tumblr.com/bba910dd8dadaf8eb6996f5793b3c04e/tumblr_mtuf8p2VX91rzv4ico1_500.png) is the reference I used.

_“He would eventually have to pass through the forest, but he felt no fear. Of course - the forest was inside him, he knew, and it made him who he was.”_

_ ― Haruki Murakam[i](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3354.Haruki_Murakami), After The Quake _

  
The fog would always start the instant the sun hit the horizon in the town of Exodus. Every man and creature knew that they should grow weary at sundown, for strange things would appear from the dead forest, things that only the most powerful magical creatures and the strongest of huntsman could handle. Despite this, out in the outskirts of town, there was a quaint little cabin with a beautiful garden that held a young boy who would stare at the forest every night from out his window, wondering what lurked between the shadows.  
  
Ever since he turned four, his mother would tell him not to not even think of venturing into the forest; to fear the creatures and spirits that roamed that roamed between the thick fog and the dark trails. His mother would warn him constantly, but Minseok had never been an obedient young man.  
  
“There are beasts in that forest, both human and magical. Don’t even think about going inside.” His mother spat out as she stirred the soup made from the vegetables in their garden. Minseok took a whiff of the strong air around him and grumbled. No money for meat that week, it seemed. Meat was extremely difficult to buy these days since no hunter would dare to wander into the woods, and neither would any edible animal.  
  
He swung his legs under the table, even at twelve years old they were far too short to reach the ground. Just a while until he was big and strong, he assured his chubby self, like his father used to be. He was told that Mr. Kim was humongous, towering over all the other lumbermen. Some would say he even towered the very trees he cut down with just a few swipes of his hand. “What kind of beasts? They can’t be all bad, eomma. I’ve seen rabbits and cats! And the garden elves that help us with our seeds! And the faeries that sell me the cabbages in the market!” He exclaimed enthusiastically, Minseok loved going to the market. Joonmyun, the head market fairy, would always save him the nicest apples he could find, sometimes for free.  
  
Mrs. Kim slammed her hands against the wooden counter, her ring making the sound of the bang much louder than normal. “I’m talking about the sort of beasts that killed your father!” She yelled to no one in particular. Minseok watched as her breathing turned from a thunderous river to a calm stream. Neither of them spoke a word, the cabin was so silent you could hear a feather drop on the floor. The young boy’s senses focused only on the thick tension between them and the pungent smell of cabbage stew that they would have to eat all week.  
  


\----

  
  
He had escaped from the cabin for the first time when he was fourteen, the day his mother had finally become too burdened with guilt and whiskey. Minseok had left her on the floor, tired of having to come back to the same scene every day after returning from school. The entrance of the forest was already overcast with the thick trees; he knew he was too far away from the town, not even the garden elves were nearby to help. Jongdae, the only garden elve he knew that could not grow out a beard and also the very one who worked in his garden, would tell him that if the trees were tall to humans they were giants to them. Minseok, not much taller than the elve, understood what they meant perfectly.  
  
Jaw clenched and fist kept into a tight, pale curl, he stomped into the forest, making sure to mark the bark of an occasional tree with a deep cut in order to remember his way home. As Minseok looked up at the sky, he could only see the lucky slither of sunlight that managed to get between the leaves and branches of the redwoods and the oak trees. The fog was just as thick as his mother would tell him, but it instead of the rumoured curling smell of blood that so many would warn him about, Minseok smelled flowers.  
  
He followed the source of the smell, trying to catalog all of the ones he saw and could recognize, but his knowledge of flowers proved to be useless. His mother would take away his gardening books in exchange for actual tools. Never an axe, she would tell him, the wound still too deep in her skin compared to Minseok, who was just a baby when the incident had happened.  
  
The path seemed to widen with every step he took, the leaves that fell onto the earth turned from dried and brown to a healthier green. It was so sudden, as if he’d crossed an imaginary line that would separate that dead trees from the ones full of life and color. Perhaps another type of garden elve maintained this part of forest. If they did, it felt as if they carefully tended to every single falling leaf and wildflower. The path combined with the earth, until Minseok found himself in a small circle like oasis. A wide weeping willow at the center, completely healthy and strong and incredibly out of place. Minseok, realizing he was exhausted, dragged himself to rest on the bark of the treet.  _‘A short nap,’_  he decided.  _‘Just a few minutes,’_ he told himself, until the world around him felt dark and he could dream and wonder if his father roamed these parts of the forests too.  
  
The moment, however, was short lived. A soft rustle of leaves came from a nearby tree, which then turned into careful soft steps that he could only listen to if he stopped breathing. Minseok silently reached for a nearby stick and jumped on his feet, hearing a gasp and a startled stomping that crushed multiple dried leaves.  
  
"Who goes there?! I'm not afraid of you!" The boy shouted, his voice and his hands shaking with fear. He treated forward, looking as menacing as his fourteen year old face allowed him to.  
  
Deep brown fingertips curled against the bark of the tree in front of him. If he wasn’t focusing, he would swear that they were part of the wood itself, as they camouflaged perfectly with the color around him. He noticed an arm now, with a thin layer of short beige fur that contrasted greatly to the one on its fingertips. The creature allowed itself to sneak a peek at the young boy. Minseok saw curious, big eyes that matched the color of the forest around him, hints of green and brown clashing together against the creature’s pale looking fur and golden hair along with... an antler?  
  
It hid his face again as it made eye contact with Minseok, only showing a bit of its antler that moved as it spoke. “Leave now.” It said with an accented voice that sounded even more childlike than his own. “Go now. This... secret place.”  
  
Minseok took a step closer. “What are you?”  
  
The creature ignored his question, struggling to find words the human could understand. “Leave now, sun down soon. Night is danger. Forest is danger! Go!” It commanded. As it yelled out in a language that Minseok had never heard of, short stalks of poison ivy grew beside his feet, getting closer with every second. Minseok knew better than to mess with magical beings. He ran, faster than he’d ever had in his life, only turning his head to make sure that the trees he passed had marks. He kept running until he could see the setting sun from the window of his house, not once thinking about something else other than the creature’s eyes.  
  
Night came as quickly as his run. Minseok did not listen to his mother yell at him for being late through the door that night, she would grow tired eventually. The muffled screams died down after a few minutes, letting Minseok’s thoughts finally wander off to the events of today. His heavy eyes said otherwise, thought. The young boy was finally forced to let himself sleep, without any time to preserve the memories of today and part of his wondered if it had all been a dream.  
  
When the night hit a point where even the town faeries, giants and the garden elves decided to rest as well, there was not a single clue that hinted on the careful pitter patter of a creature's hooves walking towards the nearby cabin to stare into the window, except a bush of morning glories that grew beneath the glass that would confuse Jongdae to no end, especially since they always grew back whenever he tried to cut them. The next morning, Minseok, also confused, assured him not to worry. According to the book he stole back from his mother, he assured the garden elve that the morning glories can bring them peace and happiness, while its seeds can guard off nightmares.  
  


\----

  
  
Unlike the morning glories, which were strong and healthy enough to now take up almost an entire wall of the cabin thanks to Jongdae’s green thumb (a literal green thumb. Minseok didn’t understand elve magic very well, but apparently it helped keep the flowers younger with every touch) his mother’s final, weak breath was exhaled on a Tuesday. On the anniversary of his father’s death, ironically enough. As little as he wanted to admit it, her death did not affect him, at least now the house won’t smell of cabbage and alcohol. Minseok assured Joonmyun and the rest of the faeries that they will have their game in time for the beginning of winter. And as if he didn’t have enough problems, Baekhyun, the local squirrel man, kept on complaining about Minseok killing his kind for the rest of the town folk to eat. They already had a treaty, all the squirrel in the forest were his, while all the ones in the town were Baekhyun’s, but that didn’t seem to satisfy the rodent who, once again, went to complain to Master Sorcerer Yifan’s house. Minseok pitied the wizard, he had to deal with leading so many annoying creatures.  
  
Like most humans, he lived in the outskirts of the town and closer to the forest that he used to fear so much. He set his bows and arrows on the table and thought about the new, much more inhabited area. As he grew older, his body turning muscular but not as tall as he’d thought he’d be, the forest grew along at the same pace. Everyone had been astonished to find that the forest animals had returned from their mass migration and that all the dead trees grew from brown to green. It took a long time for every slither of fog to eventually leave, but now one could walk through what was once was such a dark and haunting place as if they were walking through their own backyard.  
  
Trying to give his mother at least some sort of respect after her death, he took up hunting instead of working in lumber like his father. Turns out he had a talented aim, and was one of the few hunters who managed to still catch a decent amount of game during winter.  
  
“You goin’ to the competition next fortnight, right?” Jongin had asked in a particular job they had together. Hunting down orcs and trolls for the giants that passed by to the market was no easy task, especially since they wanted to much of it.  
  
Minseok shrugged. “It does not interest me. I don’t enjoy hunting for sport, I only do it because of necessity.”  
  
Sehun snorted, muttering some sort of vulgar world that Minseok wasn’t interested in hearing. “That’s real dainty of you, Minseok. Come on lad, it’ll just be a few rounds of some rats and stuff. Nothin’ no one wants alive.”  
  
Minseok refused their offer once more, much more interested in getting their job done rather than spending anymore time with other humans. Minseok never got along with his own kind, finding them far too intrusive and rude.  
  
Now, he goes into the forest alone. His mind always wanders back to the creature with the antlers when he notices an old knife mark against bark. Despite dreaming of it almost every night, the image of the antler boy is just a blurry memory when he wakes up. Even Master Sorcerer Yifan did not know about such a being still existing, they were always thought to be myths. Which is ironic coming from a man who leads a town full of magical creatures.  
  
“It must be a dream, Minseok, willows can have that effect on people, especially children,” The wizard told him, his deep black eyes that contrasted with his snow white hair burning into him tauntingly. “The antler men all died in the ancient war, no need to ponder on juvenile fallacies.”  
  
Minseok almost relieved his anger on a nearby oak tree, but fought against the act. It was certainly strange, how even the slightest act of harm against the forest made him so guilty. The marks he made on the trees as a child seemed to taunt him. He remembers waking up one morning and deciding that, apart from making his mother happy, he didn’t want to become a lumberjack anymore, leave that to the other humans who didn’t care about the wildlife. At least hunting was done out of need, and he would always kill the animal as efficiently as possible, despite it being strangely difficult for him to kill the deer and moose.  
  
The sky began to turn into Minseok’s favorite shade of orange as he walked down the familiar road to the weeping willow, where he would often go to as a place to find solitude and peace, away from all the irritating creatures that lived in Exodus.  
  
Just like he did eleven years ago, Minseok rested his heavy head against the bark of the willow tree; every leaf that fell onto the leather and fur of his outfit felt like a comforting kiss. As his body drifted off to a peaceful slumber, the hunter became unaware of the calculated, soft steps that walked towards him, always there to watch him sleep. The creature whispered in an ancient tongue, now far more used to the incantation, walking in a circle and forming morning glories that surrounded the hunters resting body. The creature tsked, if he didn’t do this every time the man fell asleep then he would have bad dreams, and that was not acceptable.  
  
The creature took another step forward, still not finished with the incantation. He ignored the prickling feeling on the tip of his tail, far too focused on the magic, until he took one more step into what could only be described as a blinding pain.  
  
Minseok was awoken by a blood curling scream, along with the frightened sound of distant animals and birds fleeing the scene. He reached for his bow and arrow on instinct, still disoriented from being awoken so suddenly. Ready to aim at any given time, he ran towards the sound of the scream, fearing someone might be in danger. Once he did manage to reach the source of the sound, he had to take a step back.  
  
The creature tried to rip out the metal bars that dug into his leg frantically, whimpering and sobbing with every effort he made. Minseok let his instincts take the best of him. He threw his provision bag to the ground and held the poor creature by his thigh and his knee in order to keep it steady.  
  
“You’re going to have to stay still.” He said, gritting his teeth and forcing himself not to stare. The creature kept sobbing but did not fight back, instead decided to bite his hand to keep himself quiet. In one swift motion, Minseok pressed the release button in the trap, causing all the spikes that had dug into the creature's legs to pull out and reveal multiple punctures, even some incisions, to the creature’s skinny hooves. Minseok, without thinking about it twice, carried the faun man that had followed his dreams for eleven years back to his home.  
  


\----

  
  
The creature that fainted before Minseok had reached the cabin, thankfully not out of blood loss, but of shock. As he cleaned and covered the antler man’s wounds (The creature had been completely naked, only a patch of fur covering his more private region. The young boy faun he remembered now look roughly his age as well) he considered asking the local healer for help, but this was an unknown creature, and the people of Exodus were never kind to unknown things. He only told Jongdae to pick him up some medical supplies, leaving him and the sleeping faun alone.  
  
He grasped the opportunity to finally get a good look at what the faun looked like. It had long, deer like ears to the side of his head along with a black nose black fingertips. The fur was too thin and skin like to noticed it on his face and arms, while darker fur would cover this collar bones like a necklace, his private regions and the his legs, which turned from human like to completely animalistic, with hooves and all, right after the knee. His antlers were short, far too short for what an adult deer is supposed to have. Minseok assumed he was just a late bloomer. He heard the antler man whisper something in the same unknown tongue he’d heard so many years ago as he slept. The words had caused a flower to grow on the palm of the creature’s hand. A dark pink rose.  
  
At the sight of the flower blooming, Minseok started to look for something. During the years, he had furnished his mother’s old room into a small, makeshift library, where he could read and learn anything he wanted in peace. He looked through his gardening section and took out _‘The Language of Flowers’_ along with his copy of  _‘All Magical Beings’._  
  
According to the book, dark pink roses symbolized thankfulness. Minseok smiled at the gratitude and wondered if the creature had known exactly what flower to bloom.  
  
“Silvanus, protector of forests.” He started to read to himself, trying to look for anything that might look like the antler man in his bed. Actual fauns were entirely human in the upper part of their body and possessed no magical skills. Not to mention that the only actual faun in town, Chanyeol, did now enjoy roaming the woods at all, instead preferred to play his lyre around the town for money. And unlike a centaur, he possessed two legs and deer like qualities, none of a horse. He continued reading aloud, “Dryad, oak tree nymph. Satyrs... Centaurs.... Flora, goddess of flowers...”  
  
“No. Luhan.” The creature said in his still accented voice from across the room, voice cracking. “My name is Luhan. I am the last of my kind.” He tried to sit up on the bed as he said this, but winced in pain.  
  
“Ah, careful. You musn’t strain yourself for now, possibly for a while.” He said as casually as he could muster. “Here, have some water.”  
  
The creature - Luhan, drank in heavy, desperate gulps, his antlers almost hitting Minseok’s face. “That’s enough for now. I covered your leg as best as I could, but tomorrow I have to do it again. You must stay here for the night. At least until I clear up the forest from those horrible traps.” Minseok assured him, an angry edge to his voice as he distinctly remembered telling the other hunters that he was  _against_  setting up the snares.  
  
Luhan stretched his tired limbs for a moment then widened his eyes, registering what was going on. He scrambled to leave the mattress but winced almost instantly at the sudden movement. “I must go back to the forest!” He pleaded. Minseok would have none of it and gently grabbed the injured creature by his shoulders, shushing him back to the mattress.  
  
“You are far too hurt to walk at the moment.” Minseok explained, “And it’s night. I may not be a forest creature, but I’ve been to it enough times to know that it is certainly not safe to wander off incapacitated and alone in the nighttime.”  
  
As he spoke, he searched through his trousers to find a match, realizing that he could now barely see around him. Luhan whispered in his ancient tongue once again and, almost instantly, dozens and dozens of fireflies flew inside from the open window and rested on the ceiling like the night sky, providing a gentle glow. Some even rested upon Luhan’s small antlers, illuminating the faun’s golden hair.  
  
“You... You made all those morning glories appear on my garden, did you not? You can control flowers  _and_ animals?” The hunter asked in awe.  
  
Luhan smiled to himself. “My kind can control entire forests. From the leaves that fall to the animals that decide to live in it. Well, now I do it alone....”  
  
“I dream of you every night. I thought you weren’t real.” Minseok shook his head. “You say you are the last of your kind. What happened to the others?”  
  
As Luhan’s expression changed, so did the flowers that rested atop around in head in the form of a crown. Minseok checked his book again, and found that they changed into purple hyacinths.  _(Purple Hyacinths; sorrow.)_  
  
“Those who survived the ancient war moved to the far west. My family had decided to stay, but my father...” His voice trailed off. “He was one of the largest stags I ever knew, yet... he was killed by a lumberman when I was a still a fawn. They joined the herd to the east without anyone knowing, and left me here to take care of the forest. Alone.”  
  
Minseok’s breath caught in his throat. _‘No, it couldn’t have been..._ ’ He thought. “Did your father kill the lumberman?”  
  
“Yes. Why, do you feel sorry for him?” The faun asked with a hint of bitterness in his voice. Minseok shook his head, surprised at himself that he was lying.  
  
The human cleared his throat, desperate to change the topic at hand. He told Luhan to rest, both of them were far too tired to continue the conversation anyway. After explaining what had happened to a frightened Jongdae, Minseok threw his tired self onto the the sofa where he will sleep during Luhan’s stay. This time, morning glories did not appear around his body as he slept. Instead, he woke up the next morning surrounded by ferns.  _(Maidenhair Fern; a secret bond of love.)_  
  


\----

  
He found his bed empty the next morning, completely devoid of any trace of an antlered man ever sleeping on it. Minseok was not surprised, he had always been a fanciful man who’d let his imagination get the best of him. He walked to the kitchen to grab the breakfast and coffee Jongdae always prepared but had barely touched his toast when he heard a pair of hooves clopping against the stone path of the garden.  
  
Minseok ran out and found Luhan, talking to himself in his language and using a makeshift bamboo crutch to support himself.  
  
“Your garden elve has done a very good job, I’m impressed. He even kept the flowers I gave you well kept.” Luhan’s eyes shined as he spoke. Before falling into her addiction, Minseok’s mother had loved caring for flowers and would take her son to the garden even when he still couldn’t walk. Minseok did not understand the attachment himself, but the garden had become part of his home as well as part of his being. An unkempt garden meant an unkept soul.  
  
Minseok rested his hand on the small of Luhan’s back, worried that the faun will fall or hurt his leg even further. “I have so many questions. How... How did you learn our language?”  
  
The faun gestured his hands towards the cabin. “You have a library and I have magic. You have so many books that you barely noticed that I would take one of two at a time.” Minseok could feel Luhan’s tail move enthusiastically, he was obviously proud of himself. “I learned a lot about your people and your customs. By the way, are you uncomfortable that I am not wearing clothes?”  
  
“Most of it is all covered, you may stay nude.” Minseok joked, a gummy smile forming in his face, the kind he hasn’t let himself show in a long time. “Another question. Why did you help me sleep all those nights? Is there anything else that you did for me that I am not aware of?”  
  
The golden hair covered Luhan’s eyes as he looked down and hid his embarrassed expression, the flowers in his crown turning into magenta zinnias.  
  
 _(Magenta Zinnia; lasting affection.)_  
  
“Before my family left me to care for the forest, I was told that I must also protect those who love it. Yet, no one came into the forest. I have nothing to protect and I was far too busy trying to revive it back to health, which was far too difficult at the time for me. I barely knew anything of my magic.” Luhan closed his eyes. “And then you came. You were hurting the trees, I got angry and told you to leave. But, I could see your that you cared for this forest more than you cared for your mother.”  
  
Minseok did not react to the statement, he knew it was true.  
  
“ _‘All the lovers of the forest shall be blessed and protected’_ ,” Luhan continued. “That is what my mother told me. I blessed you in your sleep and have been doing so ever since.”  
  
The hunter stared at him, blinking in awe. Luhan then explained that just like the forest was part of him, he was part of the forest that had bloomed into its fullest potential as he became more powerful over time. His hooves were created by the strongest of oak, his eyes from the leaves that fell in the fall while his blood came from the river that brought water and fish to the towns people. If he were to die, all the beautiful and living things in the forest would go along with him.  
  
Minseok asked if he was really just a faun and not a deity. Luhan’s ears perked up at the assumption and smiled, sunflowers growing in his crown this time, which were pretty self explanatory.  
  


\----

  
Thanks to Luhan's magic, Minseok managed to cure the faun's legs before they could get infected in only a few days. He was extremely lucky. From what he knew of healing, the snare did not break any major arteries, only created deep scars. He supposed he could call the local healer, Yixing, but he wasn't going to take the risk of letting Master Sorcerer Yifan learn about this. The townspeople had only just become accustomed to the now healthy forest. If they harm Luhan, they would harm the trembling ground beneath their feet.  
  
Minseok has no doubt that the faun's magic can go beyond forming flowers and leaves from his palm. Despite his beautiful doe eyes and his smaller, delicate looking body, he is to be feared.  
  
Yet, of all people, Luhan chose to trust him. A lonely hunter; a human no less. The least respected species of all the beings in Exodus and, despite his skill, one of the least respected hunters in the town. Luhan had noticed this when Minseok came back to the cabin one day with a black eye and no game to sell in the market. Sehun and Jongin had been unlucky and had decided to take their partner’s game for themselves. In an act of revenge, Luhan had made sure to command the animals of the forest to attack or run away from any tall, human hunter with tan skin or with a perpetual angered expression.  
  
The days went on and Minseok had never felt more at peace when he would have to accompany Luhan back to the forest for his daily tasks. It seemed as if the numbing pain in all of the scars in Minseok’s body and mind had left and all he could focus on was the serene view of the gorgeous creature in front of him, counting away the fruits in the strawberry bushes.  
  
He knew it was wrong; relationships between different species were still taboo in their town, despite the fact that the town leader was in a relationship with Joonmyun, the kind water fairy from the market. Despite this, there were times when Luhan would catch the hunter staring at him for far too long. But it was not a coincidence that the flowers in Luhan’s crown would turn to daffodils whenever he turned away, hiding his fluttering tail and perked ears.  
  
 _(Daffodil; You're the Only One. The Sun is Always Shining When I'm with You)_  
  
The numbered days seemed too good to be true, as Minseok came home one day with berries and grass all fit for a faun when he heard no sound of hooves clopping against wood. The faun had left, possibly for his daily tasks alone now that he could walk properly again. Minseok packed the gift in his bag and ran to the entrance of the forest.  
  
“Luhan! I bring gifts!” He yelled out at the antlered man in front of him. The faun had stopped in his tracks but did not look back.  
  
Minseok caught up with him in a heartbeat, panting and grinning like mad. “Where are you going? May I come with you?” The worry in his voice was not hidden.  
  
Luhan hid his face behind his golden hair again, as he always did when he was embarrassed. This time, however, Minseok was not going to accept the creature’s resignation. He took a firm hold on Luhan’s chin and lifted it up, forcing the pair to look into each other’s eyes.  
  
“Let me go, please. I am cured.” The faun said with no emotion in his voice.  
  
The hunter gritted his teeth. “No, Luhan. I am tired of decoding flowers and leaves when I want to know your emotions. Too many people have left me without any sort of explanation at all. Tell me, please.”  
  
Luhan sighed, whispering to himself in his native tongue. “I cannot be with you anymore. I know I told you that I would protect you as you would me, but everytime I am with you I start to forget my duty. The forest is my priority, it’s the reason I was left on this land. I mustn't be distracted, not by you or any other creature in this town. This is my duty, Minseok. You must understand.”  
  
“No, I don’t.” Minseok shook his head. “I promised you I would protect you. You can still care for the forest by my side.”  
  
“I cannot focus with you around! The forest is vast, I can hide and care for it in peace.”  
  
Minseok felt his nails digging into his palm. “I am a huntsman, I can find you.” The tension rose between them in a way that reminded him of his own mother. He wished he had taken his words back the moment they left his tongue.  
  
“Please, do not make such statements. I thought you were better than this, than the others.” Luhan whispered in a shaking voice. Minseok wished he was.  
  
He wished desperately to comfort him, to hold the frightened faun into his arms. Minseok had never wanted to Luhan to be afraid of him. He wasn’t his mother or his father. He wasn’t the hunters who animals as just food. Minseok reached out his hand to take Luhan’s, but the faun stopped himself before he could lean into the desperate touch.  
  
Just then, a distant yell came from afar and, before he knew it, Luhan legs were tied to the ground with a throwing trap that only two other people in the town knew how to use.  
  
“Jongin? What are you doing?” Minseok knelt beside the faun, who was struggling to gain his footing.  
  
Sehun came running from the other side and tackled Minseok to the ground. “Somethin’ we should’ve done a long time ago. Ain’t that right, Jongin?” He snarled into the hunter’s ear and grinning.  
  
“Quite right, Sehun. Our dear Master Sorcerer is goin’ to love this. Best game we’ve ever caught.” The tan hunter started to tie up Luhan’s hands behind his back, the faun yelled out in his native tongue, but was too startled to focus on his magic.  
  
Minseok widened his eyes. “He’s not to eat! Leg go of him, you have no idea what you’re doing!” He struggled under Sehun, but was quickly tied up just as they had done to Luhan. He felt gravel and mud against his mouth and wished it had been the other human’s blood from his fists instead.  
  
“Who said he was for eatin’? No way. An undiscovered creature sleeping with none other than Kim Minseok, the town’s best hunter? What would your papa, the greatest lumberman that ever lived at Exodus, say when he finds out his son is fuckin’ a deer thing?” Jongin smiled at him between each one of his words, each other cutting deep into Minseok’s skin. He wished he was part of the dirt beneath him. He was supposed to protect Luhan, and now the faun was staring at him in horror.  
  
“You never told me your father was a lumberman...” Luhan choked as he stared at Minseok with wide eyes the second before Sehun gagged him.  
  
Jongin carried the faun over his shoulders with ease, taking one cocky last look back at the other hunter. “Come on, mate. Let’s get it to Master Yifan for some rupees.”  
  
They left Minseok on the ground, rocks and dirt cutting into his tear stained cheeks. A striped carnation had fallen out of Luhan’s crown when Jongin carried him away, and now laid mockingly in front of his eyes. He didn’t call out for help but instead glared at it, hoping it would catch in flames. He wished he could burn along with it.  
  
 _(Striped Carnation; I cannot be with you. I wish I could be with you.)_  
  


**End Chapter One**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Jonquil; desire for affection returned.)

Resting uncomfortably on Jongin's shoulder, Luhan was paraded to all the citizens of Exodus as a prize. They had been surprisingly clever, the faun had not noticed the tranquilizer dart attached to his rear end until later on, when he was too dizzy to use his magic to free himself from the human’s clutches. But cleverness did not equal intelligence, for the two hunters had no idea of the kind of creature they were carrying to their town leader.  
  
Sehun and Jongin were very popular amongst the townspeople, they would always be eagerly awaited at the end of their hunt and would be praised for their bravery. But Luhan knew that it was really Minseok who deserved such praise; he missed him dearly. Luhan closed his eyes, leaving him had been a mistake. The hunter was probably regretting taking him in by now, after all the trouble Luhan had cost him. His thoughts were interrupted by the wave of murmurs and stares directed at him.  
  
"What is that?" Asked the town faun, Chanyeol, who was far more different than his own kind. Luhan did not like the cousin species, they were always too lazy and human looking for his own liking. He only liked the company of one human. The forest faun covered his face with his hands and ignored the attention.  
  
Sehun moved him aside. "Ain't none of your business. Go bother the squirrel man. We've got important stuff to do with the Master Sorcerer."  
  
"Yeah, fuck off." Said Jongin proudly.  
  
Master Sorcerer Yifan lived in a ancient, brick building in the center of the town, surrounded by charms and scorch marks that adorned the walls that only a few magical beings knew of their usage. Luhan also noted that the house was covered in vines and flowers. He smirked to himself and turned the ones that brushed over Jongin's arms to poison ivy.  
  
"Agh! What the hell?!" Jongin yelled out and scratched his arm desperately, accidentally knocking Sehun into the leaves as well. Luhan took the chance try to free his binding, but only managed to wiggle out of the ones that tied his feet. The poison from the tranquilizer was still in his system, making him wobble in his step. Instead of going to the door, Luhan mistakenly went to the opposite direction. It didn't take long for a tall, unnerving figure to see him. Despite the tranquilizers poison that still blurred his vision, the black eyes were unmistakable in their power, magic beyond the kind that Luhan knew of. Master Sorcerer Yifan gaped at him in shock, completely ignoring the presence of the other two human fools. He'll deal with them later.  
  
"Its not possible." The sorcerer whispered. At a snap of his fingers, fire lighted up the scattered lanterns around the hallway. "Come with me. Did those imbeciles let everyone see you?"  
  
Luhan nodded weakly, Yifan held a steady hand behind his back. His tail stood up in warning. He did not like being touched by this man, or anyone else. His mind drifted off to Minseok.  
  
 _"Mixed zinnias. Thinking of an absent friend."_  Yifan said suddenly in the fauns mother toungue, Luhan had not noticed the change in his crown. "I had always heard of some members of kind being able express their emotions with flowers. Pray tell me, who are you thinking about?"  
  
Luhan did not answer, instead attempting to headbutt Yifan with his antlers. The sorcerer made an invisible shield to protect himself before Luhan could even reach him, causing the creature to tumble back. This did not stop him, and instead he mumbled an incantation turned all the vines around him to poison berries and leaves, trying to make them curl around Yifan. However, it was no use, for the sorcerer simply waved a hand and turned all the leaves and berries into ash. It was made clear why the man was a Master Sorcerer. Luhan begrudgingly bowed his head in respect, as all magic users should, his forest magic was no match for the darker arts.  
  
"This is not the forest. Here, you are no match for me. Let's talk like civilized beings." Yifan clasped his hands together and guided him to his study, an enormous room filled with books, vials and experiments. Smells he had never come across before filled his nose. Minseok's library was pitiful compared to this.  
  
Once inside, Yifan neutral expression took on a much darker one. The fire in the lanterns dimmed from orange to a gentle white blaze. With a single word that Luhan did not understand, the large, wooden door slammed behind him from a sudden gust of wind, leaving him stuck inside a room with the most powerful being in Exodus. The faun gulped, stumbling around the large room in fear.  
  
 _ **"What are you?"**_ Yifan snarled, his deep, rumbling voice echoing the entire room and sounding even more terrifying than usual.  
  
Luhan steadied himself. "My name is Luhan, protector of the forest. I am the last remaining true faun in this side of the earth." He said in a rehearsed voice.  
  
 _ **"Nonsense!"**  _The sorcerer rumbled again, this time knocking over books and chairs. His voice was no longer one in the mood for a conversation. _ **"All the true fauns of the forest died in the ancient war of the twelve powers."**_  
  
"The remaining ones stayed in the forest. It is vast, we could easily hide ourselves for a long time." Luhan explained truthfully. The sorcerer kept quiet this time, intrigued, but the deep, rumbling sound of his voice did not leave.  
  
"After my father was assassinated by a..." His voice trailed off for a moment. "A lumberman in battle, also killing him, my mother and a few others of our herd decided to leave to the west... and decided to leave me in charge of caring for the forest. They have migrated past the mountains. You won't find them."  
  
Yifan's voice barked in sarcastic laughter, the echo made it seem as there was a roar of people laughing him. _ **"As if they would dare leave you in charge! Look at you,"**_  He taunted, his eyes glowing through the darkness of the room and getting closer. _**"You are weak and frail. Your antlers are far too small for a faun of your age. Your magic is mediocre at most."**  _His words bore into him like salt on a wound, but Luhan held back his tears. He had spent too many years mourning his family to believe they would treat him like the runt of the litter.  
  
 _ **"You aren't a faun, you are obviously a amateur's copy of one. Nothing but a shape shifting trick that was not well-thought."**_  Yifan accused him. Luhan finally understood what was going on. The sorcerer thought he wasn't real, just as Minseok had believed for so many years. No wonder he had told Minseok that his dreams were ridiculous.  _ **"Who do you work for?! Is it for for the Kingdom of Shine? The Red Palace of Velvet?!"**_  
  
Luhan glared at him. "I speak the truth, I am the last true faun. Without me, your precious town would have died! I brought the dead forest back to life, and what were you doing, Master Sorcerer? What did  _you_  do to give your people food and healthy lumber? What did  _you_  do in cold winter nights when your people were starving? The only citizen of the town that actually showed his gratitude for my life's work was-" The faun thinned his lips, stopping himself before admitting something to the sorcerer he did not even admit to himself.  
  
During his speech, he had not noticed that his rage had taken control of his magic. Thick, strong vines held Yifan in the middle of the room, wrapped tightly around his body. Snakes and rats that were hiding throughout town hissed from every nook and cranny of the room, and Luhan was sure he could hear the sound of bears and moose scratching against the wooden door, begging to get in on the action. Luhan felt out of breath, he had summoned the entire forest without even realizing it. Yifan's eyes widened, lighting up the lanterns in his study again to watch the scene in front of him.  
  
"It's not possible." He muttered to himself in awe, his voice returned to its original form as Luhan told all the creatures to leave in his native tongue. "You even speak their language." Once Yifan was finally out of the vines, he bowed an entire ninety degrees. "I am so sorry, Luhan. I was just doing what I thought best for my town. As strange as this is, I think I now believe you."  
  
The faun should still feel furious yet, as a leader, he understood the underlying fear that they went through, protecting the areas they loved. The two bowed at each other in mutual respect, from one magic user to another. “And to think that you did that with your hands tied behind your back...” Yifan shook his head in disbelief as he freed the faun from his bindings.  
  
The moment was short lived, however, for the wooden door was barged open by none other than the two hunters that Luhan had thought he got rid off. "Master Sorcerer! Master Sorcerer!" They said, tackling Luhan to the ground. Yifan rolled his eyes.  
  
Sehun stood up and waltzed towards the leader while Jongin held Luhan in his grasp, who was not putting on a fight. Both of them acted as if they did not have a terrible poison ivy rash underneath their clothing. “Sir, I do apologize for the creature. It got away from our careful eye somehow, but no matter! How should we deal with it?”  
  
“I’m sorry,  _deal with it?_  What are you talking about?”  
  
"Oh yes! I mean, some strange thing that's been wandering 'round the woods and doing magic that's nothin' like your's, Oh Great One. We don't want it terrorizin' the town that we love so much." Sehun boasted, his acting far too obvious. They couldn't care less about the town, getting Master Sorcerer Yifan's attention was their biggest priority. And by the look on Sehun's eyes, down his trousers as well. Luhan grimaced in distaste.  
  
"Yeah, so we set out a trap to catch it but Minseok got in the way," Jongin continued, scratching his neck absentmindedly as he held Luhan by his arm, "It was disgustin', they looked like lovebirds. But not to worry, Sir, we took care of him."  
  
Yifan stared at the two human for what seemed like ages, making them more and more nervous with each passing second. Much like earlier, the room started to become darker, the only light came from the sorcerer's eyes that bore into Sehun's terrified expression. Wind started to fill the room, causing the hunters to stumble back against the wall, while Luhan seemed completely unaffected by it. The faun knew that Yifan meant him no harm this time, but the low growling sound that rumbled against the walls of the sorcerer's study did not stop him from being absolutely terrified.  
  
 _ **"Are you meaning to tell me,"**_ The Master Sorcerer echoed, sounding a much more calculatedly frightening this time,  ** _"That you not only took in an unknown creature from the woods without my permission, you also intended to bring it to me as some sort of prize. And it doesn't end there, no."_**  As if his voice and the darkness wasn't bad enough, Yifan had made sure to change his appearance into something that did not resemble any creature on the town, and was sure to haunt that human's nightmares for a long time. Luhan, smiling to himself, looked away.  
  
 ** _"You harmed someone from your kin and constantly took his game as your own. Yes, I knew about that. I have never seen you two fire a arrow properly in my life. You two are now henceforth banished from entering the woods, your hunting statuses are revoked."_** As Yifan yelled in his most authoritative voice, light and heat started to slowly enter the room once more, but the two humans were still shaking with fear.  
  
"But, sir -- Master, you can't stop us from being hunters." Jongin pleaded.  
  
Yifan let out an imperial laugh. "I already did. The hex I cursed you with will make sure of it." With a wave of his hand, all of the weapons in Sehun and Jongin's clothes appeared on Luhan's arms.  
  
Sehun whimpered. "Master Sorcerer, what will we do? Huntin' is the only thing we know!" He choked out.  
  
"From what I had seen, hunting was the one thing you knew nothing about. I hear Baekhyun, the squirrel fellow, is looking for someone to help him crack nuts for his shop. I find that you two would be suitable for the job. Now,  _ **get out of my sight.**_ " Yifan warned them. The pair went running out the door faster than he could blink, not noticing that they were both removed of their hunting clothes save for their undergarments. The sorcerer gave Luhan and sly grin.  
  
"I did not believe Minseok when he first told me about you, many years ago... Please, send him my respect and my good luck. Go to him." He said simply.  
  
The faun nodded. He gave the man a quick bow before bursting out the door as quickly as his hooves could let him. Still, he gave himself time to enjoy the sight of what had been the town's most beloved hunters fumbling for clothes to cover themselves from the old women who laughed at them.  
  


\----

  
On the other side of Exodus, Minseok had lain in the dirt for ages as he waited for his garden elve to come home and rescue him.  _Pitiful,_  he thought to himself,  _to be in the need of help from a being half his size._  The elve sputtered nervously while unbinding him from the rope but fell quiet when he heard a whimper escape his friend’s mouth at the mention of the faun fellow’s name. Minseok argued that he  _did not_ whimper all the way to the cabin. While Jongdae managed to clean up the dirt and blood that stained Minseok’s cheek, he did not quite manage to clean up the scowl that was now permanently etched on the human’s expression. The garden elve did his best to make his friend smile, but no matter what he did, Minseok just kept staring at the striped carnation in his hand, which had been crushed in his fist minutes ago.  
  
“I am a fool, Jongdae,” The hunter began, breaking his silence yet still scowling. “A ridiculous fool. I promised myself I would protect him and now he is gone to gods know where.”  
  
Jongdae thought in silence for a moment. “I do not think he needs to be protected. He is a powerful being, you said so yourself. Those hunters do not stand a chance against him! He will find a way out. And, while he is a bit scary, the Master Sorcerer is good at heart. Luhan will come back, Minseok.”  
  
For a moment, Minseok thought about asking the elve for a drink but caught himself before he opened his mouth. He was not going to give into his family’s habits, he would endure the recent events like a strong man. However, this promise to himself did not last long as the hunter found himself sulking even further into his chair, throwing the  _Language Of Flowers_  copy he had in his other hand against the wall. Jongdae is used to the man throwing things in fits of anger, unfortunately. “Even if he does come back, he will not stop to see me. He will hide in the forest and reign it as he was supposed to. I am nothing but a distraction.”  
  
The garden elve shook his head in disagreement yet said nothing. Instead, he jumped out of his stool ― he is far too short to reach Minseok’s face without it ― and decided to clean up after his depressed friend. Starting with the plate of food that he left untouched, Jongdae will have it for himself later, and then with the book he threw against the wall, which fell open on a very particular page. Jongdae glanced at the crushed flower next to Minseok’s boots. “Minseok, have you even looked for the meaning of that flower yet?”  
  
Minseok only responded with a frustrated grunt which Jongdae took as a no. “Well, I believe you should. Look.” He handed the book to the human, who took it angrily out of his hand.  
  
“S _triped Carnations; Refusal. No. I cannot be with yo_  ― what is the point in this?!” Minseok glared down at his helper.  
  
“Keep reading, you stupid man! It also means ‘I wish I could be with you’, there is something holding Luhan back!”  
  
Minseok widens his eyes and glues his face back to the book. “...Oh, gods.”  
  
The knock on the door comes at the most opportune moment; Minseok can recognize the distinct sound of hooves against wood anywhere. Luhan allows himself in without a word, looking proud and boastful as he walks in. He leaves the bag of weapons in the table, which enrages Jongdae to no end as the knives that fall out leave marks on the wood, but neither of them care.  
  
Luhan walks over to the dumbstruck human and leans to press a kiss in his forehead, as he does, red roses grow in the crown upon the faun’s head. Minseok does not have to be a forest creature nor a master in flower language to know what they mean. “Luhan,” The hunter chokes out, “I’m sorry. I did not protect you.”  
  
The faun shakes his head, his face still pressed against Minseok’s hair. “You do not need to protect me, I am perfectly fine. You just need to trust that I can protect myself, and I can. You also do not need to worry about Sehun and Jongin ever again, thanks to me.”  
  
Minseok is far too busy staring up at Luhan’s expression to care about his enemies. It feels as if the faun get more beautiful with every waking day, just like the forest he takes care of. At this rate, Luhan will resemble a god that Minseok won’t be able to look at him without praying to a forest nymph. Speaking of which, “Luhan, you must tell me now, are you going to the forest? If someone hurts you, I will fight. But my hands have been broken far too many times, you must tell me if you want me to go with you.”  
  
Luhan looked down and decided that the wooden floor are much more interesting that Minseok’s face. “I... I do not want to be able anymore. I was scared, I see now I am stronger than I thought. A certain sorcerer told me so. But I can’t leave the forest for good. I can see you everyday I am not busy, of course, but I will always return. Thankfully, you do not live too far away from my home, it would not be a difficult arrangement.”  
  
The hunter’s eyes glow in delight at this. “Of course, just don’t track mud on the floor again, Jongdae is going to have a heart attack.”  
  
It may had been hours, but it felt like ages since he had seen Luhan laugh.

  
\-----

  
Their newfound arrangement worked wonderfully with the two as they both agreed to see each other at least in the afternoon, when the sun was going down and all Luhan had to do was command all the creatures of the forest to sleep, and Minseok had finished bringing his daily game to the town market. Now that he was the commanding hunter in town, he had to bring in much more meat than before, but Luhan assured him that he would try to make the animals court each other more often in order to feed the ever growing population of Exodus. While that happened, Minseok was trying to do a little courting of his own with the help of the town florist, Zitao, a tall and kind elf who had refused to keep his hair long like the rest of his kin. Zitao had not only helped him with his outdated copy of  _The language of Flowers_ , but helped him disguise his messages to Luhan as bouquets.  
  
Whenever the faun would come to his home for some much needed rest as well as some coffee ― it struck him as odd that the faun did not prefer tea as most of the people in Exodus did, but he did not complain ― the first thing he would see was the arrangement of flowers on the counter that Minseok dismissed as a an effort to make the room seem more inviting. Luhan, however, could not ignore the red and white camellias that stuck out so much in the room.  
  
 _(Red Camellia; You’re a flame in my heart. White Camellia; You’re adorable.)_  
  
It took many shared coffee cups and sundowns for Minseok to notice that Luhan had changed all the camellias in his table to jonquils with a wave of his hand before leaving. The faun always did like to be dramatic. The hunter jumped embarrassingly in his excitement as he read the meaning of the certain flower in his book and went straight to tell Jongdae.  
  
 _(Jonquil; desire for affection returned.)_  
  
While Minseok’s imagination had made him believe that that following day was going to be full of long declarations of love and even longer, frantic kisses on his living room sofa, he had never notice that when it came to romance, the faun was an awfully shy creature, possibly because he had never experienced romance outside of his current relationship with Minseok along with dozens of novels he would steal from Minseok’s library that told him of princesses and knights and love. So instead his earlier expectations, the hunter took it slow. He would sit next to the faun over coffee and would allow himself to rest his head on Luhan’s lap or vice versa as they talked about their day. When this became a common thing to do, Minseok now kissed him hello and goodbye, each kiss growing longer that their usual peck with each passing day.  
  
On other days when the sun was shining brightly and Minseok did not have anything to do, Luhan and he would walk through the forest together for hours in comfortable silence. The faun could create berry bushes in a blink, he could call the eagles to guide Minseok to the river for some water. It came to him as simply as it did to breathe.  
  
“I told you, I’m part of the forest. The forest is part of me. It was hard, but I learned all my magic on my own then it became natural, like walking. One never forgets how to walk.” He would say into the crook of Minseok’s neck as they laid together under the night sky, far away from the cabin now. Neither of them intended on leaving until the sunrise.  
  
Minseok ponders for a moment, “Does this mean that I kissed the forest?” He jokes with a wink.  
  
He feels Luhan’s body sit comfortably on his lap and feels himself lick his lips on instinct. He’s become so accustomed to Luhan’s naked body that he never noticed how the faun’s cock is so carefully hidden behind the patch of winter fur. "Y-You... could do more than kiss it." Luhan whispered suggestively.  _Oh god,_  Minseok thought, _he was going to make love to the forest._  
  
Not to mention that he was going to make love to a man with antlers on his head and hooves instead of feet. Minseok shrugged it off, they were in a land of many species of men, it could be worse. And Luhan was breathtaking in the moonlight as he stared down at his hunter with lustful eyes, trying to hide the fact that he was, very slowly, rubbing his bare bottom against the front of his trousers.  
  
It doesn't take long before months - years, actually - of pent up sexual frustration leave then both partly nude, Luhan sitting comfortable on Minseok's lap and rutting against the hunter like there's no tomorrow. Rose petals fell into the floor with every hurried movement and adorned the grass beneath them with red. It was gushingly romantic, Minseok thought as he made Luhan let out a particularly loud whimper, but it would be slightly annoying for Jongdae to have to pick up all the petals after them every time they made love.  
  
  
"I've dreamt of this, Luhan. You've roamed my dreams for so long I couldn't help but think of darker things.” Minseok admits into Luhan’s neck, the faun can only respond with a choked gasp. He finishes far quicker than the human does, his stamina has always been quicker than his own, but that doesn’t stop Luhan from whispering sweet nothings into his ear. He doesn’t praising and practically worshipping Minseok stop even after he ruins his hunting uniform with the sticky, warm liquid.  
  
Minseok, embarrassed and panting, presses a finger against Luhan’s lips. “Stop, I beg of you. I am not a teenager anymore, give me thirty minutes if you really want to do this again.”  
  
“It’s alright, we have a lifetime ahead of us to do whatever we want.” Luhan assures him, letting his lover carry him back to the cabin, possibly to ruin Minseok’s bed this time, and leaves rose petals to mark their trail. Days later, Master Sorcerer Yifan knows exactly what it meant, and tries to scorn them for their indecency, but there is no ill intent in his voice.  
  
In the back of his mind, Minseok knows that his lifetime is much shorter than Luhan’s, that there will be a time when he is gone and Luhan will grow sick at the sight of morning glories, but he doesn’t dwell on the fact, and only focuses on the road home, both of them waving at Jongdae, who laughs at their disheveled state. Everything feels perfect.  
  
In that moment, the forest ignores that fact that it's fall, and instead blooms its flowers early.


End file.
